I really don't have a recipe, per se, I take chicken breasts and slice into thin filets. Then I dredge in seasoned flour (flour with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper). I dunk these into a beaten egg, and then cover with bread crumbs and saute in a little bit of olive oil.

My girls love these. I guess because they are really close to chicken nuggets????

Friday, March 26, 2010

2. Get your clothes on, walk out there and shut the door quietly, please.

3. Up yours!

4. Blurfing is where you'll find me.

5. Ooh! What is that you're eating? I want one too.

6. Ignoring MY ideas, usually, is a good idea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza and Survivor, tomorrow my plans include hosting a SU Club Meeting and Sunday, I want to finally get off my large rear and start a walking regime.

2. What I'm doing for Spring Break:Spring break will be spent at home just hanging out and enjoying our "new" dog. We got Zeke from a rescue home. He's a perfect match for our family. 3. Favorite Spring flower:I have a couple of favorites. How could I not! I love tulips and daffodils. They are pretty in vases, but I LOVE seeing them in gardens.4. Do you have a garden:

We have a flower bed in front of the house. It isn't really a garden.5. If so, what do you grow:We have hosta's, blackeyed-susan's, day-lillies and some azaela's. Sometime I go wild and plant pansies. I might get nuts in a couple of weeks, when the threat of frost has past, and dig a bit.6. Do you do Spring cleaning:I guess I do! I am currently tackling my craft space. I have a habit of accumulating "stuff". It's time to sort through and weed out those things I am not in LOVE with. Oh, you mean the rest of the house. Not really. Just continue on with the normal routine.7. What is your weather "really" like right now?Our weather is perfect Spring weather. Yesterday was in the low 70's, sun shining, slight breeze. Today promises to be a bit different. We are expecting the upper 60's, and rainy weather. But still wonderful. It's warmer!8. Snapped any weather related photos lately? Share one:This is Dog Walking Weather. We just adopted the most wonderful dog. And the girls are really enjoying taking him out. Often.(Not a good picture. But I love it anyway.)

9. What's your favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon?

Sunny afternoons are wonderful for naps. Short ones. And for bike rides through the neighborhood. And little trips to the beach. And picnics in the front yard.

10. Favorite TV show right now?

I saw Jamie Oliver's show last night. He has a HUGE job ahead of him. I am not so sure he will be able to change the minds of most people. I applaud his effort. And I would welcome him into my kitchen to make changes. Or even just a dinner. LOL. It was great having you stop by. Leave me a message to know you were here, and I'll stop by and visit next time I'm in the neighborhood.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

This week we are to take an ordinary piece of paper that is used by us during the week and transform it into something else. To use it in our project. I picked a spreadsheet that was destined for the recycle bin. Since I work with spreadsheets, this was the best choice for me. Plus I could picture it distressed and faded. (and that gave me a bit of a smile)

Here are the steps I took, without pictures, because at the time I didn't think about taking pictures. I was too "into" the process.

1. I inked the whole thing with a distressing ink.2. I crumpled the paper and flattened it back out.3. I inked it again. This intensified the ink on the creases.4. I took it outside and misted it with a copper mist spray.5. I punched out a bunch of butterflies, placed them randomly on the page and sprayed with a green mist spray. I wanted to mimic the aged look of copper. You can't really see the butterfly cutouts. It didn't really work like I had pictured, but it added some interest anyway.6. I cut on the diagonal into 4 ATC's.7. I stamped two edges of each ATC with a scroll-y border stamp.8. I colored with some metallic-y pens.9. I searched for butterfly quotes and picked four that I liked and weren't too long and printed them out.10. I found some butterflies (metallic and grey) that were already on another project, carefully peeled them off of that project, carefully removed the foam tape because it was no longer sticky.11. I cut little strips of foam adhesive to fit onto the little butterflies.12. I cut the quotes into strips.13 I played with the positioning until I liked it and glued down the strips and stuck down the butterflies.

Here are all four of them. Let me know if you are interested in trading.

2 of them are obligated, but 2 remain ready for flight.

Thanks for looking. Now go to Opus Gluei and join their challenge this week.

Friday, March 19, 2010

1. Today I will be stuck in my windowless office wishing to be outside in the glorious sunshine and warm air.

2. He suggested a few new "toys", and I say why not?

3. What do you think of you and me ditching this place and finding somewhere we can glue things together?

4. At the cafe in my mind it's free Pastry Day til 1030 Friday!

5. People say that what we're all seeking is the meaning of life. I think we are all just seeking more chocolate.

6. The image I cherish most is a collage of my daughters smiling faces.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to quitting time, tomorrow my plans include running around for the kiddos activities starting at 6:30AM and Sunday, I want to get some cleaning and crafting done!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Yesterday I introduced you to Jen at tatertots and jello, well I finally got around to visiting Amber at {aefilkins}, recommended by Jen. Amber has a Friend Makin' party, of sorts, on Mondays. You all know that I don't really follow rules too well, so I am Makin' Friends a little later this week.

Time for another BLURF FAV's list. It's really hard to narrow down the selections.

So, without further blabbering, here are a few more...

1. The name got me on this one. JUGS. Are you giggling. I did. Then I checked them out and they have some really cool challenges. I haven't done this one yet, but I'm going to.

Come on, you know the name is getting you too.

It's actually Just Us Girls. But I like JUGS better. Maybe it's just my warped sense of humor.

***

2. Jen's tatertots and jello offers up some of the most wonderful crafty ideas. Things that we can actually use. Don't get me wrong, I love art, but I LOVE when I can use/wear it.

Check out this oh-so-cute necklace. I could see me making this and wearing it.

Maybe it's the colors. I love me some spring green...

***

3. Monica's blog, Lick the Bowl Good, should be "Lick the screen". Because that is exactly what I want to do every time I see her amazing pictures. She not only takes all of these delicious shots, but she makes the food. Did you get me on that last one?

SHE. MAKES. THE. FOOD. TOO.

See this piece of cake. I want it. Now. Go over there and drool. Take a napkin. It might get messy. Just sayin'.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

I made this this morning. It satisfies me, but it also satisfies the requirements for a few other things.

1. I am really enjoying the Heart the ART prompts at Gina's Tyggereye Arts blog. Although I am not current with the weeks, and have now gone out of order, I am enjoying them tremendously. She is really talented and is making me stop and think. I decided to make a page for this year long adventure. I didn't know the prompt I would use. I thought I would make the page and it would come to me...

2. I needed a project for Opus Gluei. This week's challenge is to use a picture provided by them, for inspitation. I thought I would use the flowers, colors and the grey background as a starting point.

How it came about: I traced the page onto grey cardstock and cut it out. Then I punched out flowers from the scraps of papers. I used the negative as a stencil and used white ink to print flowers onto the grey paper. Then I stamped an alphabet stamp allover the background. It's very faint, but it's there. Then I distressed and added the word paper, the flowers and the journaling and title blocks. I added the bling and the owl and then wrote.Like most of the images I post, you can click on it for a better view.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

If it's wrong to take a class because of the pretty pictures, then I am wrong.

You all know how I LOVE pretty pictures. I am a color addict. There. It's out. But I am NOT going to do anything to change it. As a matter of fact, I am going to keep feeding my addiction.

Run if you want to. I won't blame you. I mean, really, who wants to associate with a self-admitted addict who refuses treatment. But, before you go, know that I WILL keep visiting you, especially if you keep posting pretty pictures.

Anyway, back to my addiction. I have taken Shimelle classes in the past. I like her style. She is okay with not being perfect. She is real. She has pretty pictures on her blog. Which is what caught my eye, and made me break VISION #5 - STOP. (In my defense, I ask you to recall VISION #10 - RELAX. Can you say Loop-hole?!?! Plus, I can argue that this is supporting VISION #7 - LESS.)

.While I signed up for the class because the visual was something I just couldn't pass up, I found out that this is a class that I DO really need right now. I logged in this morning and found this:.

Head to your scrapping supplies and really think about what you have, why you bought it and why you haven't used it yet. Everyone has their reasons! Are you saving your good supplies for your best photos? Are you a little scared to use the supplies that cost you more because you might make a mistake? Do you think they look prettier in their packaging than on a page? Are you so busy that you find time to shop but not to scrap? Whatever your reasons may be, it's time to admit them to the world!

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&&&&&&&&&&

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And so, I am admitting MY reasons for having accumulated the extensive stash that is blocking my creativity.

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Reason #1 - I am a messy person. I have a hard time putting things away.

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Reason #2 - I am just NOT that creative. I like to think I will make great things with the wonderful items I buy, but the truth is, I have to find a project and copy it.

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Reason #3 - I feel guilty spending time alone in my craft space. I KNOW that I need time to myself, but the guilt is still there. So, I will often think about doing things, but not DO them.

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Reason #4 - I forget what I have, so I end up buying another one. Or something really similar.

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Reason #5 - I don't have the pictures printed out, but I just KNOW that "this paper" will look great for "that" event. And so, I buy it.

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Reason #6 - I love stamps. Sort of an obsession, er, rather a collection. Yeah, let's go with collection.

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Reason #7 - I belong to a monthly kit club. I can't stop the membership because I would miss out on a really cool kit. Right?!?!?!

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Reason #8 - There are way too many cute/pretty embellishments out there. And I want to use them all, so I buy them all.

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Reason #9 - I love the paper/embellishment but just don't have a clue what to use it for.

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Reason #10 - Do you really want me to go on...because I have lots of excuses. None are acceptable to me though.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I am a bit behind with my Heart the ART journal. I just got caught up doing other things (kid things) and the mojo was a bit elusive too.

Week 4 was "Under Control" - I have NEVER had a sweet tooth. I was the weird kid who traded her cupcake for a baked potato. I could easily pass on sweets for chips. Salty was my choice. Now, however, I want both. Chocolate covered pretzels will require a cigarette break afterwards. Okay, maybe it isn't that bad. But not far from it.

I totally lifted the journalling on the flamingo's from Gina. I figure it is one of her stamps, so it's okay. Right?

.The journaling reads: How did this happen to me? I never had one before. Now it is out of control. I need to stop eating sweets & get back to my old healthy way of life. Less sweets and more produce. (you can click on it to see the details better.) I used Gina's fabulous Flamingo stamp for journaling blocks. Love this bird.

*****

The prompt for week 5 was Thrive. It wasn't hard to come up with this one. I know what I need. I need creativity everyday. It doesn't always have to include paint, glue or paper, but it needs to be in there somewhere everyday.

I actually had this done at the end of January. I just haven't posted it. I wanted to do a page without pictures and competely digital. I almost succeded. I have since printed it out and added a "I (heart) ME" button and a little sparrow stamp, along with some white underlining on the "THRIVE" around the edges.I can't get a good picture of the printed out version, so here is the digi copy. I scanned one of the blank sheets from this book and made a template in PSE7 for me to use. I didn't think to cut out the holes. I wish I had because as you can see, some of the words are cut out. Oopsie.

It seems a bit wild to read, but it really isn't bad. Just read each color/style of words at a time. Again, if you click on it, you can see it better.

Monday, March 8, 2010

(edit: We had the hot dogs, but I opted for fresh fruit and baked fries.)

Tuesday - Pasta with sauce and Texas Toast (Morgan's choice)

(edited: Melissa handed me a flyer for McDonald's Night for her school, along with a lot of "Please, I'll be extra good." So, we had the food of Olympians. Again.)

Wednesday - Chicken with Green Beans (Megan's choice)

(edited: Danny had a late meeting, so I was to do pick-ups and drop offs. Melissa had basketball, so I couldn't get her until after 5:30. Megan had a guitar lesson at 5:30. So we went to Cici's for pizza. Not my favorite. I don't think I'll be going back there for a long, long time. But, hey, it was ready when we walked in the door AND I didn't have to cook.)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

I have been noticeably absent from this blog. Once the Olympics started I became very much consumed and neglected my blog. (Gasp!) I know I said I was going to get back to "normal" (what is that anyway?) once the games ended, but I haven't been here. Last weekend was spent cleaning out Melissa's bedroom. I hope to NEVER do that again. It took 3 days to sort through her "STUFF". I hauled 6 bags to the thrift store and another 6 to the garbage. We found 2 loads of dirty laundry. AND (another excuse coming - brace yourself) Danny went out of town for the last week so, I have been playing single mom/taxi driver. But, I have been absent and I apologize. I know you missed me. And I missed you too..

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.Okay, moving on. I want to say up front that I saw this idea on someone elses blog, but I can't remember where. I just know that I saw this and had one of those "I can do that" moments. The timing was perfect. Danny had just bought a Sam's bag of Tootsie Rolls. (What family REALLY needs one of those?) So, getting wrappers wasn't a problem. I had plenty of volunteers to help empty said wrappers too. AND I had just finished cleaning out Melissa's room where I found 3 D-ring belts that she didn't want any more. (Can you hear the angels singing?)I made two of them. One for Morgan (13 year old) and one for Melissa (10 year old). They both love them. And so do their friends. I am a "COOL MOM" according to their friends. YAY ME!!!

If you are interested in how I made this little treasure, let me know and I can post directions.

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Now on to the Easter Cards. I was at one of those chain hobby/craft stores and saw these adorable Easter stamps. Being the restrained person that I am, I promptly dropped them into my cart. Yes, I said cart. Doesn't everyone use a cart in hobby/craft stores? You just can't hold everything and still fondle....It isn't possible. I've tried. You just end up dropping everything and then you have to bend over. In public. Not doing that one again. Oh, yeah, the cards, they aren't fancy or complicated. But they are done. And that counts for a lot. A LOT.

I managed to stamp several images. Color them with my Copic markers. (I love them by the way.)

I won't show a picture of what colors I used because it wouldn't help you. I would have to list them. I have the Ciao markers and they don't have the colors on the ends. Plus, I am not that together. I didn't get a picture of them.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Somehow, I don't think that Billy ever imagined his play being performed by 9 and 10 year olds. But that is just what happened last night and today. They have been practicing for a couple of months. In the old language. It was one of the best plays I have ever seen. (No bias here.) The children were all so good. (When you keep in mind that they are 9 and 10 years old, and not professional actors.) Melissa got to play Seyton, the Sargent. One of MacBeth's army. She was wonderful. (Again, not biased here. Uh, uh. Not me.) She was one of the first on the stage and set the rest of the play up for success. (Did I mention that I am not biased here. Not at all.)

(The above picture is not from an actual scene. It was staged after the performance. The kids just had so much fun running around with swords and in costume, that i couldn't help it. Isn't Melissa adorable? She's the one in the lighter clothing.)

Here she is offering up a salute right before the credits.

I am so proud of my baby.

One of the other mom's taped the performance and offered to send me a copy.If I get it, and if I figure out how to post it on YouTube, I'll let you know.

I found Simply Modern Mom. Although I found her a bit late, she is requesting recipes from March 1-5, and today is the 5th, I submitted my recipe for Chicken with Green Beans (found here). She is collecting 365 Family favorite recipes, and wants yours too.

Go over there and share your recipe.

Pick up a new family favorite.

Enjoy the photos of wonderful food.

Help get to 365 Over-Used Recipes.

(I am leaving the link in my side-bar so we can find all of these recipes easily.)

Monday, March 1, 2010

(edit: I was lazy last night, so we had Ravioli and Texas Toast. Thank you Rosemary! Shouldn't you run off and get a donut now?)

Tuesday - Chinese Food (Danny's out of town)

(edit: Happy Buffet was great. mmm)

Wednesday - Fish Sticks and Mac & Cheese (Yup, he's still OOT)

(edit: Sort of stuck with this one. We had Mac & Cheese, but I couldn't do the Fish Sticks. I picked up a cooked chicken from Sam's and steamed some fresh green beans. It was great. And I have leftovers for tomorrow. Not the Mac & Cheese though. My little rats finished that off.)

Thursday - Sopa and Quesadillas (He's back tonight after dinner)

(edit: a bit of a hodge-podge. Melissa stayed at school for her play rehearsal and had pizza there. Megan, Morgan and myself just kind of foraged through the fridge. After the play, we celebrated with Melissa's choice, Happy Meals.)

Friday - Pizza

(edited: We actually had Pizza. At least 3 of us did. Melissa had a re-heated McD's Cheeseburger on the way to a sleepover. I had to make sure she ate something good (figure that one out) and Megan ate at a Bingo game she volunteered at for community service hours.)

Saturday - Dinner out

(edited: I actually made Chicken Stew served over rice. It was really yummy.)

Sunday - TBD

(edited: I attempted to make a Chicken Noodle casserole. It was okay, but I know better what to do next time. Maybe use a recipe. Or have the proper ingredients in the house.)